"She's an artist. She's real. I think that what's happened over the years, Miley has been reinventing her sound. She's evolving as an artist herself. I think that all of what everyone is calling controversy now, that's still my Miley," he said.

Billy Ray Cyrus spoke at length Thursday night about his daughter's performance at the VMAs.

JUST WATCHED

Should we be worried about Miley Cyrus?

MUST WATCH

JUST WATCHED

Cyrus: Miley is very, very smart

MUST WATCH

Cyrus: Miley is very, very smart03:44

PLAY VIDEO

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus 32 photos

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus32 photos

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – Miley Cyrus became a household name for families when her Disney Channel television show, "Hannah Montana," premiered in 2006. From there, Cyrus quickly rose to pop star fame and has been changing her appearance ever since.

Hide Caption

1 of 32

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus32 photos

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – The future pop star with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, in October 1994 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Hide Caption

2 of 32

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus32 photos

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – The father and daughter team make a New York appearance for the Disney Channel in February 2006.

Hide Caption

3 of 32

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus32 photos

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – Cyrus performs during the Radio Disney Totally 10 Birthday Concert in July 2006 in Anaheim, California.

Hide Caption

4 of 32

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus32 photos

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – Cyrus chats with VJ Susie Castillo during an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live in February 2007 at MTV Studios in New York City.

Hide Caption

5 of 32

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus32 photos

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – Cyrus starred with Emily Osmand in an episode of "Hannah Montana" in June 2007.

Hide Caption

6 of 32

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus32 photos

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – Cyrus appears at the 2007 American Music Awards in Los Angeles.

Hide Caption

7 of 32

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus32 photos

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – The actress arrives at the Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party at Vibiana in September 2007 in Los Angeles.

Hide Caption

8 of 32

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus32 photos

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – Cyrus arrives at a film premiere in Hollywood in January 2008.

Hide Caption

9 of 32

Photos: Evolution of Miley Cyrus32 photos

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – Cyrus performs for ABC's "Good Morning America" at New York's Bryant Park in July 2008.

Evolution of Miley Cyrus – Miley performs a racy number atop a car during her Bangerz Tour at Honda Center on February 20, 2014 in Anaheim, California.

Hide Caption

32 of 32

EXPAND GALLERY

Wearing a flesh-toned bra and matching underwear, Miley Cyrus appeared on stage with gigantic, dancing bears and stunned the crowd by grinding against singer-songwriter Robin Thicke and yes -- twerking.

The performance was a far cry from her Disney days as "Hannah Montana."

Billy Ray Cyrus said he had known his daughter planned to do "something really special" at the VMAs to get everyone talking.

"Miley's smart enough to know that to come out of the shadows of 'Hannah Montana,' it really takes something extremely drastic, which when you go to that level, it creates passion, and passion is either love or hate. But there's no middle of the road for passion," he said, adding that the performance pushed his daughter to new heights.

"She has risen to a whole new level. I thought I had seen it all -- until these last couple of weeks," he told CNN's Morgan.